Reading Images

  

Left: Sidelong Glance, Robert Doisneau, 1948 (source:  http://www.photography.ca/blog/2011/02/15/vintage-photo-of-the-day-feb-15-2011/doisneau/)

Right:  VJ Day, Alfred Eisenstadt, 1945 (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Legendary_kiss_V%E2%80%93J_day_in_Times_Square_Alfred_Eisenstaedt.jpg)

It is interesting to observe these photographs as action shots of everyday life, when in fact it could be said that the photographs are actually staged. This is possibly done for advertisement of brands or things, as well as creating a lifestyle that people would want to lead. So it is almost like advertising and establishing a way of life. This is especially evident in Robert Doisneau’s ‘Sidelong Glance’ as it can be said that it dictates the taste of the time shown by the artwork and the way in which people are dressed. The fact that there are hardly any people in the background is also something that has been organised, as it looks far from realistic.

The same can be said about Eisenstadt’s ‘VJ Day’, there is an evident big space around the couple, taking into account that V-J Day was a big celebration and there must have been massive crowds on Times Square, the photograph now seems not so realistic. For me this was a surprise discovery, as I thought these photographs were snaps of ordinary everyday life, and I find it interesting that this cult of idealised and staged images of life is still strong today in magazines and advertisement (fashion photographs, food and recipe photographs, interior photographs).

 

Keft: Olympia, Edouard Manet, 1863 (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:%C3%89DOUARD_MANET_-_Olympia_(Museo_de_Orsay,_Par%C3%ADs,_1863._%C3%93leo_sobre_lienzo,_130_x_190_cm).jpg)       

Right: Untitled (No.26), Cindy Sherman (source: http://www.artsjournal.com/culturegrrl/2012/03/)

Manet’s and Sherman’s pieces both display a manipulation of ‘the gaze’ which establishes a relationship between the depicted object and the viewer’s gaze or desire. It also manipulates how the viewer feels about the piece, as Manet’s ‘Olympia’ may make the viewer feel uncomfortable due to the confidence the central figure displays, as she is looking directly at the viewer.